Taiwan artists’ designs enliven Lunar New Year festival in Canada

Taiwanese artists are being showcased in Toronto and Vancouver through Feb. 19

'Universe of Piggy Banks' designed by Taiwan’s Su Kuan-chih (Image from Taiwan Today)

TAIPEI (Taiwan Today) -- Taiwan artists are enlivening the 2019 LunarFest in Toronto and Vancouver with their designs to welcome in the Year of the Pig, the Ministry of Culture said Jan. 31.

Sponsored by the MOC, the annual celebration of Lunar New Year features work by local talents who created outfits, a children’s game and various lanterns for the event that runs through Feb. 19. This year’s festival is themed Saving the Moment, highlighting the concept of being careful with money as well as savoring time spent with loved ones.

Charlie Wu, managing director of organizer Asian-Canadian Special Events Association, said since it was first held on the sidelines of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, LunarFest has become one of the most significant celebrations showcasing Asian cultures in the country.

Taipei City-based National Palace Museum collaborated with ACSEA to present the fashion exhibition “The Galleria of Imperial Inspirations.” Taiwan’s Ko Ai-ting and students from Taipei-headquartered Shih Chien University are among the designers who created outfits for the show inspired by the work of Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian missionary who served as a court painter during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

In line with the event’s theme, local artist Su Kuan-chih devised an interactive game, “The Universe of Piggy Banks” for children to learn about global currencies and the practice of saving money.

Taiwan artist Lu Yen-chun designed 12 handheld lanterns shaped like pigs dressed in outfits from various cultures that are aimed at encouraging people to donate to charity. Featuring in the festival’s exhibition “Coastal Lunar Lanterns,” are works made by local craftsman Yao Yi-lun and decorated by four indigenous artists from Taiwan’s Atayal tribe and Canada’s Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

Another LunarFest highlight is the musical “An Accident of Love,” an adaption from the renowned 1983 film “Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing” by Taiwan director Yu Kan-ping. The show featuring more than 30 classic Mandarin pop songs will be staged Feb. 5 in Toronto and Feb. 9 in Vancouver.